The most important ally currently has no problem with Israel’s advance in Rafah. UN Secretary General Guterres, on the other hand, is horrified.
As the Israeli army advances deeper into the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, the US, its most important ally, is planning a new billion-dollar arms shipment to the Jewish state, according to media reports. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “horrified” by the Israeli military offensive. “These developments further complicate humanitarian access and worsen an already dire situation. At the same time, Hamas continues to fire rockets indiscriminately,” said its spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. Former general Benny Gantz, who sits in Israel’s war cabinet, called for more international pressure on Hamas. Gantz wrote on X on Tuesday evening that he expressed this demand in a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan.
Army spokesman: Reports of hostages in Rafah
Against the backdrop of increasing tensions over the Israeli army’s advance in Rafah, Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend, according to the news portal Axios. The USA, as its most important ally, had repeatedly warned Israel against a major ground offensive in the city that borders Egypt, particularly because of the feared consequences for the civilian population. Israel wants to destroy the last Hamas battalions in Rafah. According to the military’s findings, there are also Israeli hostages in the area. Officers reported this to Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi during his visit to troops in the eastern part of Rafah on Tuesday, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening.
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According to eyewitness reports, Israeli troops had advanced deeper into the city with tanks, which moved from the east to districts further west on Tuesday. Hagari did not respond to the reports.
US President Biden threatened Israel last week that a major ground offensive in the city, which is crowded with internally displaced people from other parts of the Gaza Strip, could have consequences for US arms deliveries. But it doesn’t currently look like a major ground offensive, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday. According to US media, the US government is now planning a new arms delivery to Israel worth more than a billion US dollars (around 924 million euros). It contained tank ammunition, tactical vehicles and mortar shells, it said, citing unnamed sources. The US government initiated the approval process in Congress.
UN: Deadly shots at UN car probably from Israeli tank
Meanwhile, following the death of an Indian employee, the United Nations assumes that his car was shot at by an Israeli tank. UN spokesman Farhan Haq announced this on Tuesday in New York. “We are in discussions with Israel to find out exactly how this incident occurred,” Haq said. Another injured Jordanian woman is being treated in a hospital.
Until last week, around a million people had sought protection from fighting in the rest of the Gaza Strip in Rafah. According to UN estimates, almost 450,000 people have now left the city, which borders Egypt, within a week.
Army: Air strike on Hamas command center in school
The Israeli military meanwhile reported the killing of more than ten Hamas members in a targeted airstrike on the Islamist organization’s command center in a school. The premises were used by Hamas’ military wing to plan attacks on the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, an army spokesman said on Tuesday. Hamas set up the “war room” in the middle of a school run by the UN Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA). The attack killed 15 internally displaced people, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. None of the information could initially be independently verified.
More international pressure on Hamas is absolutely needed, Israeli Minister Gantz wrote on eliminate,” he wrote. According to the mediating state of Qatar, efforts to reach a ceasefire have almost come to a “standstill”. There are fundamental disagreements between Hamas and Israel, said Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday in Doha.
Pentagon: First aid coming soon via temporary port
The first aid supplies are expected to arrive shortly via a temporary US military port off the coast of the Gaza Strip. “In the coming days, as part of an international effort in coordination with the United Nations and the World Food Program, the United States will begin facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip via the Cyprus maritime corridor,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said Tuesday in Washington. “We call on all parties not to impede the delivery of life-saving assistance.” The temporary port will serve as a hub for the delivery of aid to the suffering civilian population in Gaza.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
